Two people were killed and five others were wounded Tuesday during a shooting outside a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, police said.
The victims have been identified as Shawn Jackson, 18, and his stepfather Renzo Smith, 36, of Chesterfield County, Richmond, Acting Police Chief Rick Edwards said at a news conference Wednesday. They were taken to a local hospital where they died Tuesday night, police said.
United Communities Against Crime
The teenager graduated from Huguenot High School on Tuesday.
Amari Pollard, 19, of Henrico County, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the shootings, Edwards said. He was arraigned Wednesday morning and is being held without bond in the Richmond City Jail, according to online records.
Edwards said Pollard and Jackson knew each other and had “an ongoing feud.”
Five men, ages 14, 31, 32, 55 and 58, had injuries that were not considered life-threatening, police said.
In an earlier news conference, Edwards had said two suspects were in custody, but he clarified Tuesday night that one of the two people arrested was not believed to be involved in the shooting.
Tuesday’s graduation ceremony at the Altria Theater, located in Monroe Park on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, was abruptly canceled after shots rang out shortly after 5 p.m., Edwards said.
Off-duty officers working security inside the ceremony immediately responded to the scene and found the shooting victims, Edwards said. Virginia Commonwealth University security detained the suspect after he left the scene, Edwards said.
Edwards said no police officers were injured or fired their weapons during the incident.
Several people were treated for various injuries, including two people for falls, a 9-year-old girl who was hit by a car during the shooting and three people who were treated for anxiety, Edwards said. The girl was treated at the scene before being taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Edwards said.
A spokesman for Richmond Public Schools said the graduation ceremony would be rescheduled.
“This incident occurred near the end of the Huguenot High School graduation and we have canceled the Thomas Jefferson High School graduation scheduled for tonight. It will be rescheduled soon,” the spokesperson said. Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras said at Wednesday’s news conference, “I can’t shake the image of him getting CPR … still in his graduation gown.”
Parker Michels-Boyce/The Washington Post via Getty Images
U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan, who represents Virginia’s 4th congressional district, which includes Richmond, said in a statement: “Tonight’s celebration has become every parent’s worst nightmare. As mother of two school-age children, I cannot fathom the deep heartbreak, sense of loss and trauma these families are going through.”
“The gun violence epidemic is a public health crisis that we must address. We cannot continue to live in fear,” McClellan added.
